Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to investigate whether wearing a forearm compression sleeve during robotic surgery (RS) reduces muscle fatigue. METHODS: A randomized controlled study of consecutive RS cases was performed with three right-handed surgeons randomly allocated to wear a non-graduated compression sleeve over either his right or left forearm. Hand-grip strength was assessed at the beginning and at the 2-hour mark during the robotic console component of surgery, using a handgrip dynamometer. The maximum strength (F(max)) and mean grip strength (F(mean)) were calculated after 10 measurements. Effectiveness of the forearm sleeve was tested primarily by the difference in mean grip strength, and secondarily by the difference in fatigue ratio (F(max)/F(mean)) and recovery ratio at the two time points. RESULTS: Thirty-two robotic cases were performed during the study period. Wearing of a compression sleeve (compared with no sleeve) on the left forearm resulted in an increase (rather than a decrease) in mean hand-grip strength after 2 hours of RS (0.5 kg increase vs. 1.3 kg decrease, p = 0.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.20-∞). Wearing a compression sleeve (compared with no sleeve) on the right forearm did not result in an improvement in grip strength reduction (1.7 kg decrease vs. 1.1 kg decrease, p = 0.79). CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant reduction in muscle fatigue with wearing a forearm compression sleeve on the nondominant left forearm during RS.